Armenia`s authorities against their own targets - opposition MP

ArmInfo. The ruling Civil Contract faction in Armenia failed to vote on the amendments to the law on state pensions submitted by the opposition Armenia faction.  Only 32 parliamentarians voted for the adoption of the document, with  58 against and 1 abstention.

According to the draft law, it was proposed to set the minimum  pension at no less than the monthly cost of the food basket, and the  average labor pension at no less than the monthly cost of the  consumer basket, from January 1, 2026. It was proposed to take into  account the monthly data published by the National Statistical  Committee, calculated in average current prices for the third quarter  of each year preceding the given budget year, as a basis. It was also  proposed to leave to the government the determination of the  composition, structure and energy value of food products included in  the food basket, and the procedure for calculating the average labor  pension.

Justifying the position of the authorities, the head of the Civil  Contract faction Hayk Konjoryan noted that according to the  government program, the achievement of this goal is presented in the  Cabinet program for 2021-2026. It is in 2026 that this task is  planned to be solved.

Hayk Konjoryan emphasized that over the past three years, the RA  government has additionally allocated $350 million to increase  pensions. For this reason, the faction will vote against the  presented document, which is rather an end in itself.

Meanwhile, according to Artsvik Minasyan, a member of the National  Assembly from the opposition Armenia faction, the already increased  pensions are far from the stated goals. Moreover, during the  specified period, the country's public debt increased by almost $7  billion. "Against this background, it is stated that the country's  authorities are on the path to achieving the goal by 2026. In fact,  the ruling faction voted against its own stated goals," the  parliamentarian emphasized.